Loveable Tomorrow
by Akino K
Summary: It’s summer and even Akito is outside, watching the birds. AkiGure, spoilers for chapter 97 and Akira


Title: Loveable Tomorrow

Author: Akito no K-chan

Summary: its summer and even Akito is outside, watching the birds.

Disclaimer: Natsuki Takaya owns Fruits Basket and Ritsuko Okazaki owns the song "Loveable Tomorrow". I'm just being thankful to them and with these stories paying my tribute.

Note: The fourth part of my project of writing fanfictions for the "Fruits Basket Image Album" songs in an AkiGure way. Not sure, but I kind of like it. And I also apologise for not updating my AyaTori for a long time, too. I'm working on it, though, and I feel safe to say that it won't be long anymore. Tomorrow's this year's last school day!

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– Loveable Tomorrow –

It was a warm day, the sun still hanging high in the sky, although it was already past noon. The gardens of the Sôma estate were empty, except for a few animals resting in the tall trees' shadowy crown. It was peaceful out here.

Sôma Akito wasn't really aware of this all, but, lying on her back in the shadows, with her head rested against a post of the paper wall behind her, she did notice the peace. When a single sound disturbed the quiet, her right eye cracked open.

"Now, what's that?" she whispered, seemingly to herself. Another chirp answered her and she propped herself up on the elbows, gazing at one lower branch of the tree closest to where she was now half-lying, half-sitting on her porch. "Shouldn't you be feeding your kids?" she asked and was rewarded now by a sparrow flying up to her. Almost instinctively Akito stretched out her arm and let the small animal rest on her forefinger. "No?"

The sparrow cocked its head to the side in a curious looking way, as back in the tree its young were slowly becoming louder.

"Now, really," Akito chided the bird. "Be a little more responsible!" Flicking her wrist, she sent the bird flying back to its young.

For some minutes, the chirping went on, however – surprising herself – Akito did not feel disturbed by it, but instead rather enjoyed the warmth on her skin enough to let her mind drift in and out of sleep. Only when the sound died away would she force herself to open her eyes. A smile tugged at her lips as the sparrow sent her a long gaze, as though it wanted to read her mind. Getting comfortable on her young, the bird held her eyes.

"Ah, you're lucky, you know?" The adult chirped questioningly and Akito shook her head, laughing softly. "No, not _you_!" she explained. "I'm talking to your kids. Looks comfortable how their lying beneath you like this." It seemed as though the sparrow nodded its approval to her thoughts.

A tiny eye peered at her from beneath the adult bird's wing. Akito couldn't help the chuckle forcing itself from her throat, as she shook her head. It really was a cute sight, seemed so safe for the little beings. She frowned slightly; why was it that she had never felt such safety herself?

Again she shook her head, forcing her mind off the unpleasant issue. Not everything about her life had been bad; after all someone had made her belief in mankind live on. Not father; He had been dead at that time already. But the Mabudachi trio had, the dog had.

It had been one of these days, after father had died, that she had realised their closeness, both among each other and towards her, so in the end – although she felt the loneliest she ever had experienced – it also were happy days, in a strange, different way. When now she thought back to them, she somehow wished that she could go back in time, to those days when they all were free and lucky, living the lives of "untroubled" children. How much they had changed…

They had become serious – well, mostly – adults, troubled by all different kinds of problems, from love to financial issues, from problems at work to trouble with editors.

For Shigure, though, everything seemed to rotate around other people now, women in particular. Maybe it was, because of being surrounded by them despite being one of the cursed. But mostly, these were problems he had to face alone, partly because she had had to throw him out of the house. Even though she didn't want to – even though she wanted to help him now – it was the only possible decision for her to make…

Anyway, her longing to help probably wasn't returned. Someone who slept with her mother couldn't possibly love her, however much she longed for him. He had practically abandoned her that day – and still she could not let go of him, he was like a drug, poisoning her mind with his cruelty and gentleness, never stopping this game.

The truth was, she didn't want him to stop – and that scared her the most. She didn't want him to stop, because she still believed that maybe he would turn back to her, forget about everything else, as he sometimes seemed to do, if only for some hours. That thought alone made her want to continue.

The sparrow, still sitting in the tree with its eyes on Akito, chirped loudly, thus bringing her thoughts back from memory into the present in a mere second. She sat up and looked around for whatever had so suddenly exited the bird.

The young took up their parent's chirping; assuring her that there really was something. "And what exactly did you just discover?" But now she could see it, too.

Someone was heading down the path to her house, keeping in the exact distance to easily be seen through a hole in the bushes only she and the boys knew of. She smirked half-heartedly and stood up. Ahead were some hours of warmth, she could tell from the way he moved.

Owari


End file.
